Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/337193
10 July/August 2014 BizEd headlines 10 July/August 2014 BizEd headlines MANY FACTORS ARE forcing educational institutions to rethink the learning process: new technologies, global competition, the rising cost of traditional higher education, and a more diverse body of students who frequently look for educational resources outside of MANY BUSINESS SCHOOLS offer students a chance to work with real money by managing investment port- folios. But at Walsh College in Troy, Michigan, the new investment fund arrives with a twist: The entire portfo- lio will consist of companies headquartered in Michigan. The US$100,000 investment portfolio was funded by Leon LaBrecque, a CPA, investment manager, and former Walsh faculty member in finance and econom- ics. LaBrecque sees Michigan as an attractive "emerg- ing market" worth investing in. Its current market cap of $388 billion is larger than Indonesia or Thailand, Reimagining Education Investing in the Emerging Market at Home and its employment rate has been rising at double the rate of the rest of the U.S. At the same time, since early 2009, a portfolio of diverse Michigan companies has experienced returns of 25.2 percent annualized versus 20.93 percent on the S&P 500. The student-run portfolio, named the Michigan Alpha Project (MAP), not only will give Walsh finance students a chance to gain real-world investment expe- traditional degree programs. To seek innovative new pedagogical approaches to higher education, the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia is partnering with QS Quacquarelli Symonds, publisher of QS World University Rankings, to launch a global competition. The "Wharton-QS Stars Awards 2014—Reimagine Education" competition will promote the latest innova- tions in online, onsite, and blended learning environ- ments around the world. The partners are welcoming entries from any university or enterprise, whether public or private, profit or nonprofit. Innovators will be recog- nized in the categories of arts and humanities, engineer- ing and technology, life sciences and medicine, natural sciences, social sciences, professional and executive edu- cation, and overall pedagogical innovation. Entries must be submitted by August 31 to reimagine-education.com. Pedagogical innovations will be showcased at a three-day global conference on December 8 through 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition, an e-book of the leading entries will be published in February 2015, alongside the release of the QS World University Ranking by Subjects 2015.